Resting in the clouds,
staring at my pale doubts,
burning vintage nights,
and gifted with flightless kites.
Let me blur the moment,
’cause all of our promises are bent.
Imprisoning your dreams behind the window, “How about stab the heart of the hollow?”

I was magnetized by your wit,
we never learn how to quit.
You were my escapade,
and I was your cocaine.
It felt like Bonnie and Clyde,
we fought side-by-side.
But, everything changed
and it was too late.

I can’t seem to remember you or us,
a twisted fate that continues to rust.
Don’t forget that I’ll always be your best friend,
you’ll be my only light until the end.
My clock is ticking,
I’m sorry for everything.
I hate saying good byes,
so for now, I’ll see you on the other side.

She wandered into the wild,
rules which she can never abide.
“To be an outlaw, or to be controlled by the law?”
Unchain your inner desire,
the fiery fire,
breath of the stars,
don’t fear to bear gory scars.

Tale as old as time,
engraved as triple nine,
a delinquent mistress,
savoring a deadly duchess.
Cherry blossom lips,
cotton candy beasts,
an arousing tang,
her kitty gun banged.

Cut and lit,
nips and split.
Butterflies were the perfect fit,
for a fetish bandit.
It felt like heroin addiction,
close to annihilation.
A supernatural lady,
abducted her with no mercy.

She was different,
an outsider for rent.
An error that malfunctioned,
without the creator’s permission.
Yet, they found one another,
they kept each other warmer.
Blood escaped from their veins,
misfortunate butterflies buried their own names.

The casual visiting of the dead was just giving out flowers and lighting up the candles, but this unique and interesting way of celebrating his time was as if he was alive. They prepared various foods and called out the relatives to enjoy the feast of the dead. No one can ever destroy the tradition that their ancestors bestowed to them, for they must let it live on for eternity.

Why was Lolo Juan buried in the forest when in the first place he wanted to be buried inside a cave after 1 year of his death?

You see, a promised culture cannot be changed. That kind of practice made them remember who they really are and what their ancestors left a genuine tradition to continue their legacy. Sometimes, you think of it as giving empathy to the dead because their last request must be fulfilled and the Mangyan Tribe are willing to do the favor. Well, other people started realizing that if they die, will the people that are alive will do their last request? Imagine it as if you are holding your final breath and the people that surrounds you listened carefully and made a promise to take care of your dead body until the end.

You saw the boney dead and assumed that it is just dead. However, you need to feel deeply and look closer that it was not just a carcass but it was a soul that was left with an unfinished business with the tribes. Let me clarify that they did not worship him, but they respected him because he was part of the family. The fact that they build the bones in a fetal position, tied the white cloth, and they even dressed him up as a living being because they believed that he was not yet dead, he was still alive in another world.

In the end, it made me disappointed because I thought that the cave was a safe place to hide those bones. Unfortunately, they were stolen because those bones have a price and that is what people were after. It was sad that it was all about the exchange of money that the thief thought about, without even thinking that the bones they had stolen were pieces of the heart of the families. For pete’s sake, they just want to left alone peacefully, not being sold in the market place. A human should help and respect each other’s belief, not by bringing them down under the net just like the crab’s selfishness in climbing first. I guess, that’s what Mangyan Tribes become more solid with their beliefs, they are challenged by their own ancestors and they will always let this practice live on for their young generation.

There were three brothers that lived in the sea; The Noble Stingray, The Grumpy Shark, and The Wee Stonefish.

The Stingray was not just friendly with its own kind, but it also has close contact with native divers. It was known for being the tribe’s totem, and believed that it carried the heart and soul of the ocean.

The Shark was the complete opposite of the Stingray. It was feared by every sea creature, even humans. It swims, it tracks, it hunts and without any second thoughts it aims to kill.

Lastly, the Stonefish was cursed to never return and live in the inky depths of the ocean floors for eternity. Guilt invaded like parasites that munch its flesh little by little. Its brother ‘The Stingray’ was teaching Stonefish in the surface on how to get along with the young divers. They all ran so fast that one boy accidentally stepped on one of the Stonefish’s arsenal. That incident haunted its mind, until now. It wasn’t murder, yet it was a bloody gateway.

The blue ocean was born with eyes and ears. Those three were observed by the way they interpret nature and how they treat creatures from above and below. Their grandfather, half-human and half-fish, he called himself “The Mystical Barracuda”. He follows them with the use of the pieces of his shadows that can shape-shift into anything. Its dark ruby eyes were a deadly manipulation to any creature because they will immediately turn them as one of Barracuda’s shadow.

The Barracuda summoned the three of them and made a proposition that whoever went through the Dead Man’s Whirlpool alive will be granted one wish, anything that they desire.

The Shark took the first move because he is confident and strong enough to withstand the dizzy spins of the Dead Man’s Whirlpool. The Shark was a show-off, insecure, and jealous. It wants to beat its eldest brother “The Stingray”, all seems well when he was swimming fast. However, when it got to the middle a dark omen sucked it inside the black hole. The Shark was nowhere to be found and the Barracuda was disappointed.

The Stingray whispered to the Stonefish that if it stole the dark ruby of the Barracuda’s shadow. The Barracuda will not see anything and automatically the whirlpool will slow down, so the Stonefish will have the chance to have his wish granted and that is to be free.

The Stonefish successfully stole the dark ruby eyes from the Barracuda’s shadow and it immediately swam through. Until, the Stonefish turned as one of Barracuda’s shadow. The shadow went back to the Barracuda to return his stolen dark ruby eyes, while the Stingray swiftly swam through the Dead Man’s Whirlpool.

The Barracuda gave his word and granted his wish.

The Stingray wished that, “I wish is for you to be my slave and will do as I say.”

The Barracuda didn’t decline the wish, and accepted his fate to be a loyal servant for his two-faced master.

“It took a long time for me to understand that if you tell stories it doesn’t mean that the world will change.”

They said that you should always grab a paper and a pen. Write about something that captured your interest, or release your emotions with just words. However, these are all the basics that will stabilize your concretes to build a tall and sturdy tower. The difficult part of being a writer is that even if you bleed ink from your eyes, and eat thousands of books everyday just to fill up your body with it. The world will give you a reason to cut off your hands and stop you from spreading your beliefs. Actually, that’s the best part of being a writer. You are molded to be passionate, be driven with the beauty of words. It doesn’t matter whether your changed the world with your writings, what matters the most is that you shared your gift to the world.

“I thought the inside of every man was good that all you had to do is to call it out, to say something was wrong and suddenly a ranging battalion of angels come down and fight the enemy.”

You should always learn to close your story book, and open your eyes from the reality that is happening in front of you. You can’t just command to the heavens that all the bad people must be destroyed, so all the good people will live harmoniously on Earth. That is impossible and pathetic to happen in just a snap. When you grow older, you’ll discover what is the true meaning of being good and the reason why people are being bad. Every characters that exist are raw and naked, they are unpredictable so be cautious at all times.

“People don’t do anything because they weren’t there and they don’t have the imagination to put themselves in a place of everyone else.”

That is true, people depend on what they see with their very own eyes. If a child saw his father beating his mother to death, and ran to the police station just to report his father’s abusive behavior. The police will think that the child was just joking around, and they will escort him back home. A few days later, the news came up that a woman and her child were shot dead by his husband, and he also committed suicide after the horrendous incident. The police had identified the child that they escorted back home. They were all silenced and regretted that they should’ve listened to that child.

“Every time I close my eyes this is what I saw. I saw a black hole, I saw a body dropping at my feet and then I stepped back.”

The thing is when you’re young, then suddenly you experienced something that will undress your innocence and exaggeratedly increase your blood flow. It felt like you’re desperately trying to survive inside a coffin that was deeply buried ten feet below out of nowhere. Experiences are great teachers, but all the lessons that were learned always depend with the students on how they will apply everything in real life.

“The reason I tell this story again and again is because I cannot forgot, and because sometimes I’m afraid I will.”

I used to remember when my grandfather was telling stories of how he manages to stop the train from crashing. I didn’t actually believed it, but it was exciting to hear him tell his tales. I just realized that when you’re still young, it is a requirement to mark your own history so that people will never forget about you. Time flies so fast that you need people to continue your legacy. A human life is limited, but our stories are eternal.

Tagpuan. In a crowded store, a mother was picking up some stuff with her son. When, suddenly the boy ran to the toy section since he spotted an action figure, his mother just let him check it out. So, when the boy was happy with the toy he decided to let his mother know, unfortunately he skipped a heartbeat since he can’t find his mom. The boy kept calling out his mom, running towards random people. He was shaking out of fear, crying as if his mother left the store without him. Thus, he sat down on the stairs to think about what his mother always say, “Look for the place that we’ve talked about.” He wiped off his tears and went outside of the store to go to Jollibee. He hugged the statue of Jollibee then the Jollibee staff saw him, then they invited him inside. At the end, the mother found him happily eating a piece of chickenjoy.

I remembered the last time when I was young, when I excitedly told my mother that I want to buy goldfishes in a pet store. I was so thrilled to go to the pet store, then suddenly I hold a strangers hand. And, my eyes widened when it was not my mom. I saw her 5 feet away from me, and she was observing my reaction. She said I should not be careless whenever I’m in a public place, and I must be aware at all times because the world isn’t safe for someone who just wanders off.

Entrance Exam. A wall full of achievements and noble diplomas, the father visualized his son to be as successful as him. He checked his report card and advised him that next time he should not earn any line of eight, but a line of nine. The father even pushed him to the limits to be more competitive in his game, also marking a goal that he must study hard to have a worthy life and future. The son took his entrance exam from a prestigious university, after that he checked his name if he passed the exam. Sadly, he got disappointed with the results. His parents went to Jollibee to know the big news, but the father felt his negative aura and saw the crumpled on the hand of his son, it was his diploma. He finally told the news that he didn’t passed the exam, the father hold his hand and said, “Naging mabuti kang anak, walang araw na hindi ako nagging proud sa’yo.”

It is way worse than a heartbreak to fail your parents’ expectations, they saw that you had worked hard to finish what you started. And, they believed with that tenacity and willingness to complete your journey, they are there to guide you until the end. You might fail, fall from your way up, or even if your fighting spirit fades off, you must always remember that they are always proud of you, no matter what situation you are into.